People of Detroit:Francois de La Forest

Francois de La Forest (or Foret) was born in Paris in 1648. In 1679 and 1680, he accompanied La Salle to Fort Frontenac and present day Illinois, respectively. In 1682, La Forest was commandant of Fort Frontenac. While commandant, La Forest was instrumental in helping Frontenac (then Governor of New France) establish a peace treaty with the Iroquois.

When Frontenac was removed from office as Governor of New France, La Forest filed a complaint that eventually won Frontenac reinstatement.

In the summer of 1685, La Forest was made commandant of Fort St. Louis. He maintained that post until 1687.

On September 11, 1691, La Forest and 110 men, including his first officer, Alphonse de Tonty, left Quebec for Michilimackinac.

On November 11, 1702, La Forest and Charlotte Francoise Juchereau were married. They had one child who died in infancy.

On September 25, 1705, La Forest was made temporary commandant of Fort Ponchartrain. He was to serve while Cadillac was away. When Cadillac returned, the two had a falling out, and La Forest left Fort Ponchartrain for Quebec.

In 1710, La Forest was appointed to succeed Cadillac as commandant of Fort Ponchartrain. His age and health forced him to recommend Charles Regnault, Sieur du Buisson, instead. In the summer of 1712, La Forest replaced Buisson as commandant.

Articles

Glossary:Algonquin

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes (and others): Delaware, Fox, Huron, Miami, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sac, Shawnee and Winnebago.

Glossary:arquebus

A 39 pound (approximate) musket that two men would prop on a tri-pod and fire with a small torch. The arquebus was used by Champlain's men against the Iroquois to defend the Hurons. This may be the cause of decades of Iroquois abuse of the Hurons.

Glossary:clay and wattle

Building technique used in the construction of chimneys in the early days of Fort Ponchartrain. The technique involved piling sticks and packing them - inside and out - with clay and mud.

Glossary:Colbertism

Name for early French mercantilism in America, which Jean-Baptiste Colbert was influential in developing.

Glossary:conges

Trade permits issued by the Canadian government/court of France in the late 1600s to early 1700s.

Glossary:coureurs de bois

Very early French inhabitants of the current US and Canada who gave up their farmsteads for lives in the fur trade. They often lived with Native Americans.

Glossary:District of Hesse

Land district provisioned by the Canadian Council on July 24, 1788. The area was on the east side of the Detroit River.

Glossary:Fox

"Properly ""Mesh-kwa-ki-hug"". Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Renyard. An allied tribe of the Sacs and Mascoutin."

Glossary:Huron

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Iroquoian

General term sometimes used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca.

Glossary:Iroquois

"A Native American tribe known for antagonizing and brutalizing the Hurons (see also arquebus)"

Glossary:Mascouten

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes and Sacs. Also spelled Mascoutin.

Glossary:Miami

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Muskhogean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek.

Glossary:New York Currency

First standard currency used in Detroit (first used in 1765).

Glossary:Ottawa

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Outagamies

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes (and Sacs?).

Glossary:Plains Indians

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, and Pawnee (Pani).

Glossary:Potawatomi

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Quebec Act

Act of June 22, 1774, in which British Parliament decides to exercise English law in criminal cases and old French provincial law in civil cases in western settlements. The idea was to discourage people from settling in the west.

Glossary:Renyard

See Fox

Glossary:ribbon farms

Original land grants given by Cadillac. The lots were typically around 200 feet wide at the river front, with lengths up to 3 miles.

Glossary:Sac

See Sauk

Glossary:Sakis

See Sauk

Glossary:Sauk

Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Sakis; English and Americans generally call them Sacs. An allied tribe of the Foxes/Renyards and Mascouten.

Glossary:Shoshonean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Bannock and Shoshone.

Glossary:Treaty of Montreal

Treaty ending the war between the Iroquois and France and England. Negotiations began in July of 1698 and the treaty was signed in August of 1701.